System and Related Methods, Apparatuses, and Computer Program Products for Controlling Operation of a Device Based on a Read Request

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a system and related methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for controlling operation of a device based on a read request. For example, a method for performing an operation in response to a read request may include a first computing device receiving a request to read a value sent to the first computing device by a second computing device via a wireless communication link between the first and second computing devices. The method may further include the first computing device determining an operation corresponding to the value. The method may additionally include the first computing device performing the operation corresponding to the value in response to the request.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a first device controlling operationof a second device, and, more particularly, to a first devicecontrolling operation of a second device based on a read request. Someembodiments may be applied to aerosol delivery devices, such as smokingarticles, and more particularly to a system and elated methods andcomputer program products for controlling an aerosol delivery device bya read request. The smoking articles may be configured to heat amaterial, which may be made or derived from tobacco or otherwiseincorporate tobacco, to form an inhalable substance for humanconsumption.

BACKGROUND

Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years asimprovements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that requirecombusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have beendesigned to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, orpipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities ofincomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from theburning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numeroussmoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers that utilizeelectrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt toprovide the sensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking withoutburning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the variousalternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and heatgenerating sources set forth in the background art described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2013/0255702 to Griffith Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2014/0000638 to Sebastian et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0060554to Collett et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/647,000 to Searset al., filed Oct. 8, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/826,929to Ampolini et al., filed Mar. 14, 2013, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/011,992 to Davis et al., filed Aug. 28, 2013, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Ongoing developments in the field of aerosol delivery devices haveresulted in increasingly sophisticated aerosol delivery devices.However, due to factors such as form factor, many aerosol deliverydevices have relatively limited user interface mechanisms via whichoperations of the device may be invoked by a user.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a system and related methods,apparatuses, and computer program products for controlling operation ofa device based on a read request. For example, various embodimentsdisclosed herein provide a system whereby a first computing device mayinvoke performance of an operation by a second computing device bysending a request to read a value corresponding to the operation to thesecond computing device via a communication link between the firstcomputing device and the second computing device. In this regard, eachof a plurality of readable values that may be maintained by the secondcomputing device may correspond to a respective operation, and thesecond computing device may be configured to perform the operationcorresponding to the value that the first computing device requested toread in response to the request. Such example embodiments may beparticularly beneficial for devices, such as aerosol delivery devices,that may have relatively limited user interface mechanisms. For example,some such example embodiments may be applied to enable a device such asa mobile communication device having a full featured user interface toinvoke performance of an operation by an aerosol delivery device bysending a request to read a value corresponding to the operation to theaerosol delivery device.

For example, in one aspect, a method for performing an operation inresponse to a read request is provided. The method may include a firstcomputing device receiving a request to read a value. The request may bereceived from a second computing device via a wireless communicationlink between the first computing device and the second computing device.The first computing device may, for example, comprise an aerosoldelivery device. The second computing device may, for example, comprisea mobile communication device. The method may further include the firstcomputing device determining an operation corresponding to the value. Inthis regard, each of a plurality of values that may be read from thefirst computing device may correspond to a different respectiveoperation. The method may additionally include the first computingdevice performing the operation corresponding to the value in responseto the request.

In another aspect, an apparatus is provided, which may includeprocessing circuitry. The apparatus may be implemented on a firstcomputing device, such as an aerosol delivery device. The processingcircuitry may be configured to cause the first computing device toreceive a request to read a value. The request may be received from asecond computing device, such as a mobile communication device, via awireless communication link between the first computing device and thesecond computing device. The processing circuitry may be furtherconfigured to cause the first computing device to determine an operationcorresponding to the value. In this regard, each of a plurality ofvalues that may be read from the first computing device may correspondto a different respective operation. The processing circuitry may beadditionally configured to cause the first computing device to performthe operation corresponding to the value in response to the request.

In a further aspect, a computer program product is provided, which mayinclude at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving program instructions stored thereon. The stored programinstructions may include program code for receiving, to a firstcomputing device, a request to read a value. The request may be receivedfrom a second computing device via a wireless communication link betweenthe first computing device and the second computing device. The firstcomputing device may, for example, comprise an aerosol delivery device.The second computing device may, for example, comprise a mobilecommunication device. The stored program instructions may furtherinclude program code for determining an operation corresponding to thevalue. In this regard, each of a plurality of values that may be readfrom the first computing device may correspond to a different respectiveoperation. The stored program instructions may additionally includeprogram code for controlling the first computing device to perform theoperation corresponding to the value in response to the request.

In an additional aspect, a method for causing a computing device toperform an operation in response to a read request is provided. Themethod may include a first computing device determining an operation forperformance by a second computing device. The first computing devicemay, for example, comprise a mobile communication device. The secondcomputing device may, for example, comprise an aerosol delivery device.The method may further include the first computing device determining avalue corresponding to the operation. In this regard, each of aplurality of values that may be read from the second computing devicemay correspond to a different respective operation. The method mayadditionally include the first computing device formatting a request toread the value corresponding to the operation and sending the request tothe second computing device via a wireless communication link betweenthe first computing device and the second computing device to cause thesecond computing device to perform the operation.

In still a further aspect, an apparatus is provided, which may includeprocessing circuitry. The apparatus may be implemented on a firstcomputing device, such as a mobile communication device. The processingcircuitry may be configured to cause the first computing device todetermine an operation for performance by a second computing device. Thesecond computing device may, for example, comprise an aerosol deliverydevice. The processing circuitry may be further configured to cause thefirst computing device to determine a value corresponding to theoperation. In this regard, each of a plurality of values that may beread from the second computing device may correspond to a differentrespective operation. The processing circuitry may be additionallyconfigured to cause the first computing device to format a request toread the value corresponding to the operation and to send the request tothe second computing device via a wireless communication link betweenthe first computing device and the second computing device to cause thesecond computing device to perform the operation.

In another aspect, a computer program product is provided, which mayinclude at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving program instructions stored thereon. The stored programinstructions may include program code for determining, at a firstcomputing device, an operation for performance by a second computingdevice. The first computing device may, for example, comprise a mobilecommunication device. The second computing device may, for example,comprise an aerosol delivery device. The stored program instructions mayfurther include program code for determining, at the first computingdevice, a value corresponding to the operation. In this regard, each ofa plurality of values that may be read from the second computing devicemay correspond to a different respective operation. The stored programinstructions may additionally include program code for formatting arequest to read the value corresponding to the operation and sending therequest to the second computing device via a wireless communication linkbetween the first computing device and the second computing device tocause the second computing device to perform the operation.

This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some exampleembodiments so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the abovedescribed example embodiments are merely examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Inthis regard, these and other features, aspects, and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying drawings, which are brieflydescribed below. The invention includes any combination of two, three,four, or more of the above-noted embodiments as well as combinations ofany two, three, four, or more features or elements set forth in thisdisclosure, regardless of whether such features or elements areexpressly combined in a specific embodiment description herein. Thisdisclosure is intended to be read holistically such that any separablefeatures or elements of the disclosed invention, in any of its variousaspects and embodiments, should be viewed as intended to be combinableunless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Having thus described the disclosure in the foregoing general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an aerosol delivery device in anassembled configuration, the aerosol delivery device having the generalconfiguration of what can be characterized as an electronic cigarette,and comprising a control body and a cartridge according to some exampleembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the cartridge and a section viewthrough the control body of the aerosol delivery device of FIG. 1wherein the cartridge is decoupled from the control body according tosome example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of FIG.1, including a base, a control component terminal, an electronic controlcomponent, first and second heating terminals, a flow director, areservoir substrate, an atomizer, an outer body, a mouthpiece, and alabel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system for controlling operation of adevice based on a read request in accordance with some exampleembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus that may beimplemented on a computing device that may invoke performance of anoperation by a second computing device by sending a read request to thesecond computing device in accordance with some example embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus that may beimplemented on a computing device that may perform an operation inresponse to receiving a read request from a second computing device inaccordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method forinvoking performance of an operation by a second computing device bysending a read request to the second computing device in accordance withsome example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method forperforming an operation in response to receiving a read request from asecond computing device in accordance with some example embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof. These exemplary embodimentsare described so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in the specification, andin the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, includeplural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a systemand related methods, apparatuses, and computer program products forcontrolling operation of a device based on a read request. These exampleembodiments may provide several advantages over prior techniques. Forexample, some embodiments provide a finer level of control over devicesoffering a more limited user interface. As a further example, in someembodiments in which a protocol, such as Bluetooth, may be used tosupport a read request that may be used to invoke performance of anoperation, the protocol's write handlers may not have to be implemented,thereby reducing programming complexity and saving memory space ondevices with relatively limited memory space (e.g., limited randomaccess memory space and/or limited program memory), such as some aerosoldelivery devices. Further, whereas a command to write a value may haveto be sanitized (e.g., checked for out of bounds errors), a read requestthat may be used to toggle or otherwise modify a value in accordancewith various example embodiments may not need to be sanitized.Additionally, using a read request to invoke performance of an operationmay allow remote control of a device that may prohibit a remote devicefrom writing to the device due to security concerns. Further, readrequests may be simpler and require less time to format and transmitthan a write request, which may provide a faster response time to usercommands and may reduce power consumption in the device generating andsending the read request compared to power that may be required to senda write request or other explicit command for performing an operation.

Moreover, use of a read request to invoke performance of an operation bya device in accordance with various embodiments disclosed herein may beused without transferring a program instruction(s) or other instructionfor storage/installation on a device, thereby offering an additionallevel of control over devices having limited memory space. Accordingly,in some example embodiments, a first device may invoke performance of anoperation by a second device based on a read request without the seconddevice downloading or storing any program or information from the firstdevice.

Some example embodiments relate to invoking performance of an operationby an aerosol delivery device by sending a read request to the aerosoldelivery device and to an aerosol delivery device configured to performan operation in response to receiving such a read request. It will beappreciated, however, that embodiments described with respect toapplication to an aerosol delivery device are provided by way ofexample, and not by way of limitation. In this regard, embodimentsdisclosed herein may be applied mutatis mutandis to devices other thanaerosol delivery devices within the scope of the disclosure.

Aerosol delivery devices according to the present disclosure may useelectrical energy to heat a material (preferably without combusting thematerial to any significant degree) to form an inhalable substance; sucharticles most preferably being sufficiently compact to be considered“hand-held” devices. An aerosol delivery device may provide some or allof the sensations (e.g., inhalation and exhalation rituals, types oftastes or flavors, organoleptic effects, physical feel, use rituals,visual cues such as those provided by visible aerosol, and the like) ofsmoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, without any substantial degree ofcombustion of any component of that article or device. The aerosoldelivery device may not produce smoke in the sense of the aerosolresulting from by-products of combustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, butrather, that the article or device most preferably yields vapors(including vapors within aerosols that can be considered to be visibleaerosols that might be considered to be described as smoke-like)resulting from volatilization or vaporization of certain components ofthe article or device. In highly preferred embodiments, aerosol deliverydevices may incorporate tobacco and/or components derived from tobacco.As such, the aerosol delivery device can be characterized as anelectronic smoking article such as an electronic cigarette.

Aerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure also can becharacterized as being vapor-producing articles or medicament deliveryarticles. Thus, such articles or devices can be adapted so as to provideone or more substances (e.g., flavors and/or pharmaceutical activeingredients) in an inhalable form or state. For example, inhalablesubstances can be substantially in the form of a vapor (i.e., asubstance that is in the gas phase at a temperature lower than itscritical point). Alternatively, inhalable substances can be in the formof an aerosol (i.e., a suspension of fine solid particles or liquiddroplets in a gas). For purposes of simplicity, the term “aerosol” asused herein is meant to include vapors, gases and aerosols of a form ortype suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whetheror not of a form that might be considered to be smoke-like.

In use, aerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure may besubjected to many of the physical actions employed by an individual inusing a traditional type of smoking article (e.g., a cigarette, cigar orpipe that is employed by lighting and inhaling tobacco). For example,the user of an aerosol delivery device of the present disclosure canhold that article much like a traditional type of smoking article, drawon one end of that article for inhalation of aerosol produced by thatarticle, take puffs at selected intervals of time, etc.

Smoking articles of the present disclosure generally include a number ofcomponents provided within an outer shell or body. The overall design ofthe outer shell or body can vary, and the format or configuration of theouter body that can define the overall size and shape of the smokingarticle can vary. Typically, an elongated body resembling the shape of acigarette or cigar can be a formed from a single, unitary shell; or theelongated body can be formed of two or more separable pieces. Forexample, a smoking article may comprise an elongated shell or body thatcan be substantially tubular in shape and, as such, resemble the shapeof a conventional cigarette or cigar. In one embodiment, all of thecomponents of the smoking article are contained within one outer body orshell. Alternatively, a smoking article may comprise two or more shellsthat are joined and are separable. For example, a smoking article maypossess at one end a control body comprising a shell containing one ormore reusable components (e.g., a rechargeable battery and variouselectronics for controlling the operation of that article), and at theother end and removably attached thereto a shell containing a disposableportion (e.g., a disposable flavor-containing cartridge). More specificformats, configurations and arrangements of components within the singleshell type of unit or within a multi-piece separable shell type of unitwill be evident in light of the further disclosure provided herein.Additionally, various smoking article designs and component arrangementscan be appreciated upon consideration of the commercially availableelectronic smoking articles, such as those representative productslisted in the background art section of the present disclosure.

Aerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure most preferablycomprise some combination of a power source (i.e., an electrical powersource), at least one control component (e.g., means for actuating,controlling, regulating and/or ceasing power for heat generation, suchas by controlling electrical current flow from the power source to othercomponents of the aerosol delivery device), a heater or heat generationcomponent (e.g., an electrical resistance heating element or componentcommonly referred to as part of an “atomizer”), and an aerosol precursorcomposition (e.g., commonly a liquid capable of yielding an aerosol uponapplication of sufficient heat, such as ingredients commonly referred toas “smoke juice,” “e-liquid” and “e-juice”), and a mouthend region ortip for allowing draw upon the aerosol delivery device for aerosolinhalation (e.g., a defined air flow path through the article such thataerosol generated can be withdrawn therefrom upon draw). Exemplaryformulations for aerosol precursor materials that may be used accordingto the present disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. Pub. No.2013/0008457 to Zheng et al. and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2013/0213417 toChong et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety. Representative types of aerosol precursorcomponents and formulations also are set forth and characterized in U.S.Pat. No. 7,217,320 to Robinson et al. and U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos.2013/0008457 to Zheng et al.; 2013/0213417 to Chong et al. and2014/0060554 to Collett et al., the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference. Other aerosol precursors that may beemployed include the aerosol precursors that have been incorporated inthe VUSE® product by R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company, the BLU™ product byLorillard Technologies, the MISTIC MENTHOL product by Mistic Ecigs, andthe VYPE product by CN Creative Ltd. Also desirable are the so-called“smoke juices” for electronic cigarettes that have been available fromJohnson Creek Enterprises LLC.

More specific formats, configurations and arrangements of componentswithin the aerosol delivery device of the present disclosure will beevident in light of the further disclosure provided hereinafter.Additionally, the selection of various aerosol delivery devicecomponents can be appreciated upon consideration of the commerciallyavailable electronic aerosol delivery devices, such as thoserepresentative products listed in the background art section of thepresent disclosure. Further, the arrangement of the components withinthe aerosol delivery device can also be appreciated upon considerationof the commercially available electronic aerosol delivery devices, suchas those representative products listed in the background art section ofthe present disclosure.

One example embodiment of an aerosol delivery device 100 according tothe present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated, theaerosol delivery device 100 may include a control body 200 and acartridge 300. In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates the control body 200and the cartridge 300 respectively in an assembled configuration,wherein the control body and the cartridge are coupled to one another.Various mechanisms may connect the control body 200 to the cartridge 300to result in a threaded engagement, a press-fit engagement, aninterference fit, a magnetic engagement, or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control body 200 may comprise a pluralityof components. For example, the control body 200 may include a coupler202, an outer body 204, a flow sensor 210, a control component 212, anelectrical power source 216 (e.g., a battery, which may be rechargeable,capacitor, and/or other suitable electrical power source), an indicator218 (e.g., an LED indicator), and an end cap 222. Various element thatmay be included in a control body are described in U.S. application Ser.No. 14/193,961 to Worm et al., filed Feb. 28, 2014, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a cartridge, such as the cartridge300, in an exploded configuration. As illustrated, the cartridge 300 maycomprise a base 302, a control component terminal 304, an electroniccontrol component 306, a flow director 308, an atomizer 310, a reservoirsubstrate 312, an outer body 314, a mouthpiece 316, a label 318, andfirst and second heating terminals 320 a, 320 b according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. The atomizer 310 may comprise aliquid transport element 322 and a heating element 324. The cartridgemay additionally include a base shipping plug engaged with the baseand/or a mouthpiece shipping plug engaged with the mouthpiece in orderto protect the base and the mouthpiece and prevent entry of contaminantstherein prior to use as disclosed, for example, in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/841,233 to Depiano et al., filed Mar. 15, 2013.The description included hereinafter provides example configurations ofthe above-described components and methods of assembly thereof. However,it should be understood that the cartridge 300 may be assembled in avariety of manners and may include additional or fewer components inother embodiments. For example, although the cartridge 300 is generallydescribed herein as including a reservoir substrate, in otherembodiments the cartridge may hold an aerosol precursor compositiontherein without the use of a reservoir substrate (e.g., through use of acontainer or vessel that stores the aerosol precursor composition ordirect storage therein). In some embodiments, an aerosol precursorcomposition may be within a container or vessel that may also include aporous (e.g., fibrous) material therein.

It will be appreciated that FIGS. 1-3 are provided by way of example,and not by way of limitation. In this regard, other arrangements andconfigurations of components for forming an aerosol delivery device arecontemplated within the scope of disclosure. The various components ofan aerosol delivery device according to the present disclosure can bechosen from components described in the art and commercially available.

Having described several example embodiments of aerosol delivery devicesthat may be used with various example embodiments, several embodimentsof a system and related methods, apparatuses, and computer programproducts for controlling operation of a device based on a read requestwill now be described. Such example embodiments enable a greater degreeof control over devices, such as the aerosol delivery devices describedabove, that may have a more limited user interface compared to computingdevices having fully featured user interfaces.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system 400 for controlling operation of adevice based on a read request in accordance with some exampleembodiments of the present disclosure. The system 400 may include aplurality of computing devices, including Device A 402 and Device B 404.Device A 402 may be configured to invoke performance of an operation byDevice B 404 by sending a read request to Device B 404, as describedfurther herein. Device B 404 may, in turn, be configured to perform anoperation in response to a read request received from Device A 402, asdescribed further herein.

Device A 402 and Device B 404 may each be embodied as any computingdevice that may be configured to communicate with another computingdevice. In accordance with some example embodiments, Device A 402 may beembodied as a computing device offering a user interface withinput/output mechanisms enabling a user to input commands forcontrolling operation of Device B 404. By way of non-limiting example,Device A 402 may be embodied as a mobile communication device, such as asmart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computing device,a portable media device, some combination thereof, or the like. It willbe appreciated, however, that Device A 402 may be embodied as acomputing device other than a mobile communication device within thescope of the disclosure, including, for example, a personal computer,such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, or the like.

In accordance with some example embodiments, Device B 404 may beembodied as a computing device having relatively reduced user interfacefeatures, or that may not have any user interface features, and thusthat may only provide users with course-grained control of Device B 404through direct interaction with Device B 404. Accordingly, use of DeviceA 402 to provide control inputs for the Device B 404 that may bepropagated to the Device B 404 in the form of corresponding readrequests in accordance with various embodiments may provide users withfiner-grained control of Device B 404. For example, in some embodiments,Device B 404 may be embodied as an aerosol delivery device, such as thevarious embodiments of aerosol delivery devices described above withrespect to FIGS. 1-3. As further examples, in some embodiments, Device B404 may be embodied as a wearable computing device (e.g., a healthmonitor, watch, and/or the like), a sensor device, various forms ofmachine-to-machine (M2M) devices, and/or the like. It will beappreciated, however, that Device B 404 is not limited to embodiment asa computing device offering relatively limited user interface features,and may be embodied as a computing device offering more fully featureduser interfaces, such as an aerosol delivery device having userinterface features, a mobile communication device, personal computer,and/or the like.

Device A and Device B may be configured to establish a communicationlink with each other to enable Device A 402 to send a read request inaccordance with various embodiments to Device B 404. The communicationlink may be implemented using any wireless or wireline technologyconfigured to enable communication between two computing devices.

For example, in some embodiments, a Bluetooth technology, such asBluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as Bluetooth Smart andWibree), and/or the like may be used to implement a wirelesscommunication link between Device A 402 and Device B 404. Furtherexamples of wireless communication technologies that may be supported byDevice A 402 and/or Device B 404 and used to implement a wirelesscommunication link between Device A 402 and Device B in accordance withsome embodiments may include various wireless personal area network(WPAN) networking technologies, such as Zigbee, wireless UniversalSerial Bus (USB), various Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.15 technologies, and/or the like; various wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) technologies, such as Wi-Fi direct, variousIEEE 802.11 technologies, and/or the like; an Infrared Data Association(IrDA) and/or other infrared (IR) technology; near field communication(NFC); and/or other wireless communication technology that may be usedto convey a read request and/or other information between computingdevices.

It will be appreciated, however, that embodiments described with respectto use of Bluetooth and other types of wireless communication linksbetween Device A 402 and Device B 404 are described by way of example,and not by way of limitation. In this regard, a wireline communicationlink, such as a USB link, Firewire link, Thunderbolt link, variousserial communication links, and/or the like may be substituted mutatismutandis for a wireless communication link within the scope of thedisclosure.

Device B 404 may be configured to provide one or more readable valuesthat Device A 402 may request to read (e.g., by sending a read requestreferencing a value to Device B 404). For example, in some embodiments,a readable value may be a value that Device A 402 may request to read,and Device B 404 may respond to the request with the requested value. Inthis regard, the read request may comprise a query for the readablevalue to which Device B 404 may respond, and in accordance with someembodiments does not include any transfer of a value or otherinformation to Device B 404 for storage on Device B 404. Three suchreadable values, Value X 406, Value Y 408, and Value Z 410, areillustrated in FIG. 4 by way of example. However, it will be appreciatedthat Device B 404 may provide any number of readable values within thescope of the disclosure.

A readable value provided by Device B 404 may be mapped to acorresponding operation, which Device B 404 may be configured to performin response to receiving a request to read the value from Device A 402.The operation may be any operation other than reading/returning thevalue. In the example of FIG. 4, Value X 406 may correspond to OtherOperation X 412; Value Y 408 may correspond to Other Operation Y 414;and Value Z 410 may correspond to Other Operation Z 416. Thus, forexample, if Device A 402 requests to read Value Y 408, Device B 404 maybe configured to perform Other Operation Y 414 in response to the readrequest.

Device B 404 may be configured to maintain mappings between the readablevalues and corresponding operations so that the appropriate operationmay be performed in response to a read request that may be received fromDevice A 402. For example, in some embodiments, Device B 404 may beconfigured to implement a hook procedure that may be configured tointercept a request to read a value and invoke the operationcorresponding to the value. Thus, for example, given a request to readValue Z 410 that may be received from Device A 402, a hook procedure maybe configured to intercept the request to read Value Z 410 and to invokeperformance of Other Operation Z 416 in response to the request. In someembodiments using one or more hook procedures, a hook procedure may beimplemented within a function that may be used to handle a read request.Thus, for example, a function that may be used to respond to a readrequest by providing the requested value to Device A 402 may include ahook procedure configured to invoke an operation corresponding to therequested value in parallel to or in lieu of reading and returning therequested value.

As a further example of a mapping that may be maintained by Device B404, in some embodiments, a readable value may be mapped to a memorylocation storing a reference to the operation corresponding to thevalue. For example, in some such embodiments, the memory location maycontain a pointer to a memory location of the operation and/or areference to a function call for invoking the operation. As such, when arequest to read a value is received, the reference to the correspondingoperation that may be maintained in the memory location mapped to thevalue may be read and used to invoke performance of the correspondingoperation.

In order to invoke performance of a particular operation by Device B404, Device A 402 may accordingly format and send a request to read thevalue corresponding to the operation to Device B 404. For example,Device A 402 may request to read Value X 406 to invoke performance ofOther Operation X 412, may request to read Value Y 408 to invokeperformance of Other Operation Y 414, and/or may request to read Value Z410 to invoke performance of Other Operation Z 416.

In some example embodiments, a request to read a value may reference avariable that may contain or otherwise reference the value. Thus, forexample, a request to read Value X 406 may reference the variable (e.g.,“X”) referencing Value X 406. In some such embodiments, such as someembodiments in which Bluetooth Low Energy is used to supportcommunication between Device A 102 and Device B 104, readablecharacteristics may be used by Device B 404 to reference readable valuesin such a manner. Thus, for example, Device A 402 may request to readValue X 406 in some example embodiments by sending an appropriateBluetooth protocol request for reading characteristic “X.” A request toread a variable in such a manner may be interpreted by Device B 404 andused to perform the corresponding operation.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, Device A 402 mayhave knowledge of a memory location (e.g., a memory address) at which avalue may be stored by Device B 404. In such embodiments, a request toread a value from Device B 404 may reference the memory location of thevalue.

Device A 402 of some example embodiments may maintain and/or have accessto a mapping that may define a correspondence between operations thatmay be performed by Device B 404 and respective values and/or variables(e.g., characteristics or the like) referencing the values that may beread to invoke performance of those operations. As such, given anoperation that Device A 402 (and/or a user thereof) wants Device B 404to perform, Device A 402 may use the mapping to determine the valuecorresponding to the operation and format an appropriate request to readthe value corresponding to the operation and send the request to DeviceB 404 to invoke performance of the operation by Device B 404.

Given an example in which Device A 402 (or a user thereof) wants toinvoke performance of Other Operation X 412 by Device B 404, Device A402 may format a request to read Value X 406 and send the request toDevice B 404, as illustrated by operation 420. The request may include areference a variable (e.g., a characteristic) referencing Value X 406, areference to a memory location storing Value X 406, and/or otherreference to Value 406.

Device B 404 may receive the request and determine that the request is arequest to read Value X 406 (e.g., based on a reference to Value X 406that may be included in the request as described above). Device B 404may further determine that Other Operation X 412 corresponds to Value X406 and may perform Other Operation X 412 in response to the request toread Value X 406, as illustrated by operation 430. Device B 404 may useany of the previously described techniques to determine and perform theoperation (e.g., Other Operation X 412) that corresponds to Value X 406,including, for example, implementation of a hook procedure configured tointercept a request to read Value X 406 and invoke Other Operation X 412in response thereto, reading a reference to Other Operation X 412 thatmay be stored in a memory location mapped to Value X 406, and/or thelike.

In some example embodiments Device B 404 may be configured to send aresponse to the request to read Value X 406 to Device A 402, asillustrated by operation 440. For example, in some embodiments, theresponse may include the value (e.g., Value X 406) requested to be readby Device A 402 in operation 420. In this regard, Device B 404 may beconfigured to perform a read procedure for reading and providing Value X406 in addition to (e.g., in parallel) to Other Operation X 412 inresponse to a request to read Value X 406 in accordance with someexample embodiments, and thus may provide Value X 406 to Device A 402 inresponse to the request. A response to a read request including therequested value may be handled in accordance with a protocol that may beused for reading a value, such as a response to a request to read acharacteristic value in accordance with various Bluetooth protocols.Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, Device B 404may be configured to respond to the request to read Value X 406 withconfirmation that Other Operation X 412 was performed in response to therequest.

It will be appreciated that Device B 404 may perform any of a variety ofoperations in response to a read request. Moreover, the set ofoperations that may be performed in response to a read request may varydepending on the embodiment of Device B 404, as one type of computingdevice may be capable of a different set of operations than anothercomputing device (e.g., depending on device capabilities and functionalpurpose). As such, it will be appreciated that each of Other Operation X412, Other Operation Y 414, and Other Operation Z 416 may comprise anyrespective operation that may be performed other than or in addition toread procedure that may be used to respond to a read request byproviding the requested value.

In some example embodiments, a read request may be used by Device A 402to alter a power state of Device B 404. For example, in accordance withsome such embodiments, a read request may be used to turn Device B 404off, turn Device B 404 on, place Device B 404 in a standby or low powermode of operation, switch Device B 404 from a low power or standby modeof operation to a normal power consumption mode, and/or the like.

Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, a readrequest may be used by Device A 402 to modify a configuration setting ofDevice B 404. A configuration setting modification that may be modifiedvia a read request in accordance with various embodiments may comprise amodification to any adjustable operating parameter that may relate tooperation of Device B 404 and, thus, may vary depending on theembodiment of Device B 404.

As a particular example of a configuration setting that may be modifiedin some embodiments in which Device B 404 is embodied as an aerosoldelivery device, a configuration setting for an element of a userinterface of the aerosol delivery device, such as the functionality ofan LED and/or other indicator(s) (e.g., the indicator 218) that may beimplemented on an aerosol delivery device may be modified. Furthernon-limiting examples of configuration settings that may be modified viaa read request in some embodiments in which Device B 404 is embodied asan aerosol delivery device may include modification of a heating profileconfiguration, modification of an aerosol precursor compositionvaporization setting, modification of a puff control setting,modification of a battery management setting, modification of a hapticfeedback configuration, modification of a flavor setting, and/or thelike. For example, modification of an aerosol precursor compositionvaporization setting may include modification of a configurationdefining an amount of aerosol precursor composition that is vaporizedper puff, and/or other configuration setting that may relate to thevaporization of aerosol precursor composition. Modification of a puffcontrol setting may, for example, include modification of a number ofpuffs that are allowed within a period of time and/or for a singlesmoking session, modification of a minimum interval of time that mustelapse between puffs, and/or modification of another setting that maygovern device behavior with respect to user puffs. Modification of abattery management setting may, for example, include modification of aconfiguration relating to charging of a battery or other electricalpower source (e.g., electrical power source 216) that may be implementedon an aerosol delivery device and/or a configuration that may regulateconsumption of the battery. Modification of a haptic feedbackconfiguration may, for example, include modification of a vibrationstrength of haptic feedback, activating/deactivating haptic feedback,and/or the like. Modification of a flavor setting may, for example,include modification of the type and/or concentration of a flavor thatis vaporized separately or in combination with other aerosol precursorcomponents.

In some example embodiments in which a configuration setting may bemodified in response to a request to read a value, the value may specifythe configuration setting. For example, a readable value may define avalue within a range of possible setting values for a configuration. Inaccordance with some such embodiments, Device A 402 may be configured torequest to read a value defining a configuration setting in order tomodify the configuration setting, and Device B 404 may be configured tomodify the value (e.g., by overwriting the value with a new value and/orotherwise modifying the stored value) in response to the request so asto modify the configuration setting.

In some example embodiments in which a value may be modified in responseto a read request, multiple variables, such as multiple characteristics,may reference the same value. Each respective variable referencing thevalue may correspond to a different operation that may be performed onthe value. For example, a request to read a first variable referencingthe value may result in Device B 404 performing a first operation tomodify the value (e.g., incrementing the value by 1) and a request toread a second variable referencing the value may result in Device B 404performing a second operation to modify the value (e.g., decrementingthe value by 1).

In some example embodiments, Device A 402 may provide a user interfaceenabling a user to select an operation to be performed by Device B 404and/or to control at least some functionality of Device B 404. Forexample, Device A 402 may be configured to display a graphical userinterface that may be provided by an application, such as a mobile app,that may be implemented on Device A 402 in accordance with some exampleembodiments. The graphical user interface may provide access to aplurality of selectable commands for controlling Device B 404. A usermay select a command, such as by touching an appropriate region of atouch screen display, providing a voice command, and/or actuating anappropriate key, button, or other input mechanism that may be providedby Device A 402. Device A 402 may receive an indication of a commandselected by the user, and may determine the operation(s) correspondingto the command. Device A 402 may format and send one or more readrequests to Device B 404 to invoke performance of one or more commandedoperations by Device B 404 in response to the user command.

In some example embodiments, a command that may be selected by a user ofDevice A 402 may be abstracted at a higher level of granularity thanoperations that may be performed by Device B 404 to carry out thecommand. Thus, for example, Device A 402 may resolve a user command intoa set of operations that may need to be performed by Device B 404 inorder to carry out the command, and may format and send the appropriateread requests to invoke performance of the appropriate set of operationsby Device B 404.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 500 that may beimplemented on a computing device, such as Device A 402, that may invokeperformance of an operation by a second computing device, such as DeviceB 404, by sending a read request to the second computing device inaccordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Itwill be appreciated that the components, devices or elements illustratedin and described with respect to FIG. 5 below may not be mandatory andthus some may be omitted in certain embodiments. Additionally, someembodiments may include further or different components, devices orelements beyond those illustrated in and described with respect to FIG.5.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 500 may include processingcircuitry 510 that is configurable to perform functions in accordancewith one or more example embodiments disclosed herein. In this regard,the processing circuitry 510 may be configured to perform and/or controlperformance of one or more functionalities of apparatus 500 (e.g.,functionalities of Device A 402) in accordance with various exampleembodiments. Thus, the processing circuitry 510 may be configured toperform data processing, application execution and/or other processingand management services according to one or more example embodiments.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 500 or a portion(s) or component(s)thereof, such as the processing circuitry 510, may be implemented viaone or more integrated circuits, which may each include one or morechips. The processing circuitry 510 and/or one or more furthercomponents of the apparatus 500 may therefore, in some instances, beconfigured to implement an embodiment on a system on a chip.

In some example embodiments, the processing circuitry 510 may include aprocessor 512 and, in some embodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG.5, may further include memory 514. The processing circuitry 510 may bein communication with or otherwise control a communication interface516, user interface 518, and/or read control module 520.

The processor 512 may be embodied in a variety of forms. For example,the processor 512 may be embodied as various hardware processing means,such as a microprocessor, a coprocessor, a controller or various othercomputing or processing devices including integrated circuits such as,for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA(field programmable gate array), some combination thereof, or the like.Although illustrated as a single processor, it will be appreciated thatthe processor 512 may comprise a plurality of processors. The pluralityof processors may be in operative communication with each other and maybe collectively configured to perform one or more functionalities of acomputing device, such as Device A 402, on which the apparatus 500 maybe implemented. In some example embodiments, the processor 512 may beconfigured to execute instructions that may be stored in the memory 514and/or that may be otherwise accessible to the processor 512. As such,whether configured by hardware or by a combination of hardware andsoftware, the processor 512 may be capable of performing operationsaccording to various embodiments while being configured accordingly.

In some example embodiments, the memory 514 may include one or morememory devices. Memory 514 may include fixed and/or removable memorydevices. In some embodiments, the memory 514 may provide anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that may store computerprogram instructions that may be executed by the processor 512. In thisregard, the memory 514 may be configured to store information, data,applications, instructions and/or the like for enabling the apparatus500 to carry out various functions in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments. In some embodiments, the memory 514 may be incommunication with one or more of the processor 512, communicationinterface 516, user interface 518, and read control module 520 via oneor more buses for passing information among components of the apparatus500.

The apparatus 500 may further include a communication interface 516. Thecommunication interface 516 may be configured to enable a computingdevice, such as Device A 402, on which the apparatus 500 may beimplemented to communicate with one or more further computing devices,such as Device B 404 and/or other device that may be controlled toperform an operation by sending a read request to the device. In thisregard, the communication interface 516 may include one or moreinterface mechanisms for enabling communication with other devicesand/or networks. As such, the communication interface 516 may include,for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardwareand/or software for enabling communications with a wirelesscommunication network (e.g., a cellular network, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and/or thelike) and/or for supporting a wireless communication link with a secondcomputing device. Thus, for example, the communication interface 516 maybe configured to support various wireless communication technologies,such as by way of non-limiting example, various Bluetooth technologies(e.g., including Bluetooth Low Energy and/or regular Bluetoothtechnologies), Zigbee, wireless USB, various IEEE 802.15 technologies,various IEEE 802.11 technologies, IrDA and/or other IR technology, NFC,and/or other communication technologies that may be used to supportwireless communication between two or more computing devices, such asbetween Device A 402 and Device B 404 as described above. Thecommunication interface 516 may additionally or alternatively include acommunication modem, a physical port (e.g., a serial port) for receivinga wireline communication cable, and/or other hardware/software forsupporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), USB,FireWire, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, one or more optical transmissiontechnologies, and/or other wireline communication technology that may beused to implement a communication link between two or more computingdevices, such as between Device A 402 and Device B 404 as describedabove.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 500 may include the userinterface 518. The user interface 518 may be in communication with theprocessing circuitry 510 to receive an indication of a user input and/orto provide an audible, visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. Assuch, the user interface 518 may include, for example, a keyboard, amouse, a joystick, a display, a touch screen display, a microphone, aspeaker, one or more biometric input devices (e.g., a visual orsensorial tracing device that may track body part or eye movements), anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or other input/output mechanisms. Inembodiments wherein the user interface 518 comprises a touch screendisplay, the user interface 518 may additionally be configured to detectand/or receive an indication of a touch and/or other movement gesture orother input to the display. The user interface 518 may, for example, beconfigured to display a graphical user interface that may display one ormore selectable commands for controlling a second computing device, suchas Device B 404 as described above. The user interface 518 may furtherprovide an input mechanism(s) for enabling the user to select thecommand, which may accordingly be received by the apparatus 500 via theuser interface 518.

The apparatus 500 may further include read control module 520. The readcontrol module 520 may be embodied as various means, such as circuitry,hardware, a computer program product comprising computer readable medium(for example, the memory 514) storing computer readable programinstructions executable by a processing device (for example, theprocessor 512), or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, theprocessor 512 (or the processing circuitry 510) may include, orotherwise control, the read control module 520. The read control module520 may be configured to format a request to read a value correspondingto an operation from a second device, such as Device B 404, and send therequest to the second device to invoke performance of the operation bythe second device, as described above. In some example embodiments inwhich a user may select a command via the user interface 518, the readcontrol module 520 may be configured to resolve the command into one ormore operations for performance by the second device to carry out thecommand, and may be configured to format and send the appropriate readrequests to invoke performance of the one or more operations by thesecond device.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 600 that may beimplemented on a computing device, such as Device B 404, that mayperform an operation in response to receiving a read request from asecond computing device, such as Device A 402, in accordance with someexample embodiments of the present disclosure. In some exampleembodiments, apparatus 600 may be implemented on an aerosol deliverydevice, such as the aerosol delivery device 100. For example, in somesuch embodiments, the apparatus 600 may be implemented on a control bodyof an aerosol delivery device, such as the control body 200.

It will be appreciated that the components, devices or elementsillustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 6 below may not bemandatory and thus some may be omitted in certain embodiments.Additionally, some embodiments may include further or differentcomponents, devices or elements beyond those illustrated in anddescribed with respect to FIG. 6.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 600 may include processingcircuitry 610 that is configurable to perform and/or control performanceof functions of a computing device, such as Device B 404, on which theapparatus 600 may be implemented in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Thus, the processing circuitry 610 may beconfigured to perform data processing, application execution and/orother processing and management services that may be implemented toperform functionality of the aerosol delivery device according to one ormore example embodiments.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 600 or a portion(s) or component(s)thereof, such as the processing circuitry 610, may be implemented viaone or more integrated circuits, which may each include one or morechips. The processing circuitry 610 and/or one or more furthercomponents of the apparatus 600 may therefore, in some instances, beconfigured to implement an embodiment on a system on a chip.

In some example embodiments, the processing circuitry 610 may include aprocessor 612 and, in some embodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG.6, may further include memory 614. The processing circuitry 610 may bein communication with or otherwise control the communication interface616, user interface 618, and/or read execution module 620.

The processor 612 may be embodied in a variety of forms. For example,the processor 612 may be embodied as various hardware processing means,such as a microprocessor, a coprocessor, a controller or various othercomputing or processing devices including integrated circuits such as,for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA(field programmable gate array), some combination thereof, or the like.Although illustrated as a single processor, it will be appreciated thatthe processor 612 may comprise a plurality of processors. The pluralityof processors may be in operative communication with each other and maybe collectively configured to perform one or more functionalities of acomputing device, such as Device B 404, on which the apparatus 600 maybe implemented. In some example embodiments, the processor 612 may beconfigured to execute instructions that may be stored in the memory 614and/or that may be otherwise accessible to the processor 612. As such,whether configured by hardware or by a combination of hardware andsoftware, the processor 612 may be capable of performing operationsaccording to various embodiments while being configured accordingly.

In some example embodiments, the memory 614 may include one or morememory devices. Memory 614 may include fixed and/or removable memorydevices. In some embodiments, the memory 614 may provide anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that may store computerprogram instructions that may be executed by the processor 612. In thisregard, the memory 614 may be configured to store information, data,applications, instructions and/or the like for enabling the apparatus600 to carry out various functions in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments. In some embodiments, the memory 614 may be incommunication with one or more of the processor 612, communicationinterface 616, user interface 618, and read execution module 620 via oneor more buses for passing information among components of the apparatus600.

The apparatus 600 may further include a communication interface 616. Thecommunication interface 616 may be configured to enable a computingdevice, such as Device B 404, on which the apparatus 600 may beimplemented to communicate with one or more further computing devices,such as Device A 402 and/or other device that may be controlled toperform an operation by sending a read request to the device. In thisregard, the communication interface 616 may include one or moreinterface mechanisms for enabling communication with other devicesand/or networks. As such, the communication interface 616 may include,for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardwareand/or software for enabling communications with a wirelesscommunication network (e.g., a cellular network, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and/or thelike) and/or for supporting a wireless communication link with a secondcomputing device. Thus, for example, the communication interface 616 maybe configured to support various wireless communication technologies,such as by way of non-limiting example, various Bluetooth technologies(e.g., including Bluetooth Low Energy and/or regular Bluetoothtechnologies), Zigbee, wireless USB, various IEEE 802.15 technologies,various IEEE 802.11 technologies, IrDA and/or other IR technology, NFC,and/or other communication technologies that may be used to supportwireless communication between two or more computing devices, such asbetween Device A 402 and Device B 404 as described above. Thecommunication interface 616 may additionally or alternatively include acommunication modem, a physical port (e.g., a serial port) for receivinga wireline communication cable, and/or other hardware/software forsupporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), USB,FireWire, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, one or more optical transmissiontechnologies, and/or other wireline communication technology that may beused to implement a communication link between two or more computingdevices, such as between Device A 402 and Device B 404 as describedabove.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 600 may include the userinterface 618. However, in some embodiments, one or more aspects of theuser interface 618 may not be present, or the user interface 618 may beeliminated entirely. The user interface 618 may be in communication withthe processing circuitry 610 to receive an indication of a user inputand/or to provide an audible, visual, mechanical, or other output to auser. As such, the user interface 618 may include, for example, akeyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a display, a touch screen display, amicrophone, a speaker, one or more biometric input devices (e.g., avisual or sensorial tracing device that may track body part or eyemovements), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or other input/outputmechanisms. In embodiments wherein the user interface 618 comprises atouch screen display, the user interface 618 may additionally beconfigured to detect and/or receive an indication of a touch and/orother movement gesture or other input to the display.

In embodiments in which the apparatus 600 may be implemented on anaerosol delivery device, the user interface 618 may, for example,include an input mechanism(s) to enable a user to power the aerosoldelivery device on/off, to activate a heating element to generate avapor or aerosol for inhalation, and/or to otherwise actuate and/orcontrol at least some functionality of an aerosol delivery device. Forexample, the user interface 618 may include a mouthpiece (e.g.,mouthpiece 316), and/or associated puff sensing components (e.g., flowsensor 210), which may enable a user to provide a puff input to anaerosol delivery device. As a further example, the user interface 618may provide one or more indicators (e.g., indicator 218), such one ormore LEDs (e.g., LED 212) that may be used to indicate an operatingstatus of an aerosol delivery device, a charge level of a battery, anamount of aerosol precursor composition remaining in a cartridge, and/orto provide other status information that may be related to operation ofan aerosol delivery device to a user. In some example embodiments, theuser interface 618 may include a vibrator and/or other haptic feedbackdevice, which may impart a vibration and/or other motion on the aerosoldelivery device.

The apparatus 600 may further include read execution module 620. Theread execution module 620 may be embodied as various means, such ascircuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprising computerreadable medium (for example, the memory 614) storing computer readableprogram instructions executable by a processing device (for example, theprocessor 612), or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, theprocessor 612 (or the processing circuitry 610) may include, orotherwise control, the read execution module 620. The read executionmodule 620 may be configured to perform an operation corresponding to avalue referenced in a read request that may be received by a computingdevice, such as Device B 404, on which the apparatus 600 may beimplemented in accordance with various example embodiments disclosedherein.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method forinvoking performance of an operation by a second computing device bysending a read request to the second computing device in accordance withsome example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, FIG.7 illustrates operations that may be performed by some embodiments ofDevice A 402 to cause Device B 404 to perform an operation in accordancewith various embodiments disclosed herein. Accordingly, one or moreelements of the apparatus 500, such as one or more of processingcircuitry 510, processor 512, memory 514, communication interface 516,user interface 518, and read control module 520 may, for example,provide means for performing one or more of the operations illustratedin and described with respect to FIG. 7.

Operation 700 may include determining an operation for performance by asecond computing device, such as Device B 404. For example, a computingdevice, such as Device A 402, performing the method of FIG. 7 may beconfigured to display a graphical user interface providing access to oneor more selectable commands for controlling the second computing device.A user may select a command and, in some embodiments, operation 700 mayinclude determine an operation for carrying out the command.

Operation 710 may include determining a value corresponding to theoperation. For example, in some embodiments, operation 710 may compriseaccessing a mapping between operations and references to thecorresponding values, such as variables (e.g., characteristics and/orother variables that may reference a value), memory locations storingthe values on the second computing device, and/or other indication thatmay be used to reference the corresponding value. The valuecorresponding to the operation (e.g., a reference thereto) mayaccordingly be determined by looking up the operation determined inoperation 700 in the mapping to determine the corresponding valuereference.

Operation 720 may include formatting a request to read the valuecorresponding to the operation. The request may include a reference tothe value (e.g., the reference that may be determined in operation 710),such as a characteristic and/or other type of variable referencing thevalue, a reference to a memory location storing the value, and/or otherindication that may enable the second device to determine the valuerequested to be read. For example, the reference to the value may beincluded as a parameter to the request.

Operation 730 may include sending the request to the second computingdevice. The request may be sent via a communication link with the secondcomputing device. In some example embodiments, the communication linkmay be a wireless communication link, such as may be implemented via aBluetooth technology. In some example embodiments, the value may also bereceived from the second computing device in response to the request.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart according to an example method forperforming an operation in response to receiving a read request from asecond computing device, such as Device A 402, in accordance with someexample embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, FIG. 8illustrates operations that may be performed by some embodiments ofDevice B 404 in response to receiving a read request from Device A 402in accordance with various embodiments disclosed herein. Accordingly,one or more elements of the apparatus 600, such as one or more ofprocessing circuitry 610, processor 612, memory 614, communicationinterface 616, user interface 618, and read execution module 620 may,for example, provide means for performing one or more of the operationsillustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 8.

Operation 800 may include receiving a request to read a value. Therequest may be received from a second computing device, such as Device A402, via a communication link with the second computing device. In someexample embodiments, the communication link may be a wirelesscommunication link, such as may be implemented via a Bluetoothtechnology.

Operation 810 may include determining an operation corresponding to thevalue. For example, in some embodiments, a hook procedure may beconfigured to intercept the read request and invoke the operationcorresponding to the value. In this regard, in some such embodiments, arequest to read the value may trigger a read procedure for reading thevalue and the hook procedure may be implemented within the readprocedure and executed in response to the read procedure such that thecorresponding operation may be invoked in response to the read request.As another example, in some embodiments, the value may be mapped to(e.g., stored in) a memory location, which may store a reference to theoperation corresponding to the value such that when the value is read,the corresponding operation may be determined

Operation 820 may include performing the operation corresponding to thevalue in response to the request. In some example embodiments, the valuemay also be returned to the second computing device in response to therequest.

It will be understood that each block of the flowcharts in FIGS. 7-8,and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented byvarious means, such as hardware and/or a computer program productcomprising one or more computer-readable mediums having computerreadable program instructions stored thereon. For example, one or moreof the procedures described herein may be embodied by computer programinstructions of a computer program product. In this regard, the computerprogram product(s) which may embody the procedures described herein maybe stored by one or more memory devices of a computing device andexecuted by a processor in the computing device. In some embodiments,the computer program instructions comprising the computer programproduct(s) which embody the procedures described above may be stored bymemory devices of a plurality of computing devices. As will beappreciated, any such computer program product may be implemented on acomputer or other programmable apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe computer program product including the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus creates means forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart block(s). Further,the computer program product may comprise one or more computer-readablememories on which the computer program instructions may be stored suchthat the one or more computer-readable memories can direct a computer orother programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, suchthat the computer program product comprises an article of manufacturewhich implements the function specified in the flowchart block(s). Thecomputer program instructions of one or more computer program productsmay also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus tocause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus implement the functions specified in theflowchart block(s). Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions. It willalso be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, andcombinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specifiedfunctions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerprogram product(s).

Moreover, it will be appreciated that the ordering of blocks andcorresponding method operations within the flowchart is provided by wayof non-limiting example in order to describe operations that may beperformed in accordance some example embodiments. In this regard, itwill be appreciated that the ordering of blocks and corresponding methodoperations illustrated in the flowchart is non-limiting, such that theordering of two or more block illustrated in and described with respectto the flowchart may be changed and/or method operations associated withtwo or more blocks may be at least partially performed in parallel inaccordance with some example embodiments. Further, in some embodiments,one or more blocks and corresponding method operations illustrated inand described with respect to the flowchart may be optional, and may beomitted.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that thedisclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedherein and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to beincluded within the scope of the appended claims. Although specificterms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A method for performing an operation in response to a read request,the method comprising a first computing device: receiving a request toread a value, wherein the request is received from a second computingdevice via a wireless communication link between the first computingdevice and the second computing device; determining an operationcorresponding to the value, wherein each of a plurality of readablevalues corresponds to a different respective operation; and performingthe operation corresponding to the value in response to the request. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first computing device is an aerosoldelivery device, and wherein the second computing device is a mobilecommunication device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelesscommunication link is implemented via a Bluetooth technology.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the request comprises a request to read avalue referenced by a characteristic, and wherein determining theoperation corresponding to the value comprises determining an operationcorresponding to the characteristic.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the first computing device sending the value to the secondcomputing device via the wireless communication link in response to therequest.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a hook procedure isconfigured to intercept the request, and wherein determining theoperation corresponding to the value comprises the hook procedureinvoking the operation corresponding to the value.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the value is mapped to a memory location storing areference to the operation corresponding to the value, and whereindetermining the operation corresponding to the value comprises readingthe reference from the memory location.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the request comprises a reference to a variable referencing thevalue.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the request comprises areference to a memory location storing the value.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the operation corresponding to the value comprisesaltering a power state of the first computing device.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the operation corresponding to the value comprisesmodifying a configuration setting of the first computing device.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the first computing device comprises anaerosol delivery device, and wherein modifying the configuration settingcomprises modifying one or more of a configuration setting for a lightemitting diode (LED) indicator, a haptic feedback configuration, aheating profile configuration, an aerosol precursor compositionvaporization setting, a puff control setting, and a battery managementsetting.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the value specifies theconfiguration setting, and wherein modifying the configuration settingcomprises modifying the value.
 14. An aerosol delivery device comprisingprocessing circuitry configured to cause the aerosol delivery device toat least: receive a request to read a value, wherein the request isreceived from a mobile communication device via a wireless communicationlink between the aerosol delivery device and the mobile communicationdevice; determine an operation corresponding to the value, wherein eachof a plurality of readable values corresponds to a different respectiveoperation; and perform the operation corresponding to the value inresponse to the request.
 15. The aerosol delivery device of claim 14,wherein the wireless communication link is implemented via a Bluetoothtechnology.
 16. The aerosol delivery device of claim 15, wherein therequest comprises a request to read a value referenced by acharacteristic, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured tocause the aerosol delivery device to determine the operationcorresponding to the value at least in part by causing the aerosoldelivery device to determine an operation corresponding to thecharacteristic.
 17. The aerosol delivery device of claim 14, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to cause the aerosol deliverydevice to send the value to the mobile communication device via thewireless communication link in response to the request.
 18. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to cause the aerosol delivery device to: implement a hookprocedure configured to intercept the request and invoke the operationcorresponding to the value in response to the request.
 19. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 14, wherein the request comprises a referenceto a variable referencing the value.
 20. The aerosol delivery device ofclaim 14, further comprising: a memory; wherein the request comprises areference to a memory location storing the value within the memory. 21.The aerosol delivery device of claim 14, wherein the operationcorresponding to the value comprises altering a power state of theaerosol delivery device.
 22. The aerosol delivery device of claim 14,wherein the operation corresponding to the value comprises modifying aconfiguration setting of the aerosol delivery device.
 23. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 22, wherein modifying the configuration settingcomprises modifying one or more of a configuration setting for a lightemitting diode (LED) indicator, a haptic feedback configuration, aheating profile configuration, an aerosol precursor compositionvaporization setting, a puff control setting, and a battery managementsetting.
 24. The aerosol delivery device of claim 22, wherein the valuespecifies the configuration setting, and wherein modifying theconfiguration setting comprises modifying the value.
 25. A method forcausing a computing device to perform an operation in response to a readrequest, the method comprising a first computing device: determining anoperation for performance by a second computing device; determining avalue corresponding to the operation, wherein each of a plurality ofoperations corresponds to a different respective value; formatting arequest to read the value corresponding to the operation; and sendingthe request to the second computing device via a wireless communicationlink between the first computing device and the second computing deviceto cause the second computing device to perform the operation.
 26. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the first computing device is a mobilecommunication device, and wherein the second computing device is anaerosol delivery device.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein thewireless communication link is implemented via a Bluetooth technology.28. The method of claim 27, wherein the request comprises a request toread a value referenced by a characteristic, and wherein thecharacteristic corresponds to the operation.
 29. The method of claim 25,further comprising the first computing device: causing display of agraphical user interface providing access to a plurality of selectablecommands for controlling the second computing device; and receiving anindication of a selected command; wherein determining the operationcomprises determining the operation in accordance with the selectedcommand.
 30. The method of claim 25, wherein the request comprises oneof a reference to a variable referencing the value or a reference to amemory location storing the value.
 31. The method of claim 25, whereinthe operation corresponding to the value comprises altering a powerstate of the second computing device.
 32. The method of claim 25,wherein the operation corresponding to the value comprises modifying aconfiguration setting of the second computing device.
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein the second computing device comprises an aerosoldelivery device, and wherein modifying the configuration settingcomprises modifying one or more of a configuration setting for a lightemitting diode (LED) indicator, a haptic feedback configuration, aheating profile configuration, an aerosol precursor compositionvaporization setting, a puff control setting, and a battery managementsetting.